China tut-tuts as HK political reforms derail

By John Ruwitch

HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s Communist leaders criticised
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers on Thursday for blocking an
election reform package that the government argued would have
made the territory more democratic.

Analysts said the rejection of the reforms late on
Wednesday would slow the political reform process, hurt
whatever goodwill had sprouted between the government and the
democrats and sow political confusion — at least in the short
term.

But some hoped it would ultimately act as a catalyst for
all the parties responsible for the political trainwreck —
Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang, the pan-democratic camp and the
control-obsessed Beijing leadership — to seek a real
compromise.

The leaders of China and Hong Kong and the public were
unhappy with the result because it did not truly reflect
mainstream opinion in Hong Kong, state media quoted a Chinese
cabinet office spokesman as saying.

The central government fully agreed with Tsang and
appreciated his efforts to promote reform, the Xinhua news
agency said without specifically mentioning the pro-democracy
camp.

Tsang travels to Beijing next week to consult the
leadership, which is expected to offer strong support.

Since Hong Kong was returned to Communist Chinese rule in
1997 with promises of wide-ranging autonomy, Beijing has kept
tight control over political reforms in the territory.

Tsang’s package included two measures put before the
60-member legislature — a motion to expand the hand-picked
committee that selects the city’s leader, or chief executive,
and another that would have added 10 seats to the legislature.

The democratic camp killed the package because it failed to
say when the territory could have full democracy.

LOSE-LOSE SITUATION

Cheung Chor-yung, a professor at City University of Hong
Kong, said the result was negative across the board.

“Nobody wins. Not Hong Kong. Not the government. Not the
democrats. Not even Beijing,” he said.

For their part, the democrats are not claiming victory.

“I don’t want to use that word because … our demand for a
timetable for universal suffrage has not been met,” said
Democratic Party leader Lee Wing-tat.

But they are emboldened by the vote and pleased to have
stopped what they say was a less-than-satisfying reform
package.

Early on Thursday, Tsang stopped short of blaming the
democrats directly for the defeat of the package, but he
insisted that they had acted against the public will and said
point-blank he would not propose new reforms.

His chief secretary, Rafael Hui, had more ominous words,
saying the democrats responsible must bear the consequences.

To return to the political reform track, the two sides
would have to drop their acrimony and work together, said
Christine Loh, a former legislator who heads the think tank
Civic Exchange.

“Nobody can walk away from this in any kind of huff or with
any kind of complacency,” she said. “Everybody has to really
climb back on the bandwagon in fact. That’s what good politics
will be about.”

Cheung was not optimistic, saying Tsang would focus on
other priorities, namely the 2007 election.

“For him to get re-elected is now the first priority,” he
said. “That will take the trust of Beijing, and he still has
it.”

(Additional reporting by Brian Rhoads in Beijing)